Sonic the Hedgehog -S1:EP1- Mystery of the Blue Blur
by DarkAegyptiacus
Summary: Following a month after the 'Chaotix Origin Story', Mobius is placed under a state of panic when new foe, Dr Robotnik, rises with plans of global domination in his gaze. And when Knothole's band of skilled, adventurous teenagers are unable to help; they seek out the only one who can preserve the cool and blue of this world. Rated T for comic-book violence
1. Prologue

Planet Mobius. A great blue planet, not unlike Earth, inhabited with two main groups of sentient creatures.

The first species, known as 'Overlanders', are considered the dominant members of the planet as well as the oldest of the two races geologically. Man, Woman and Child - they hold very little variation between one another; black, white, Dragonese, Chunnese, Jalasian among others.

The other race varies between one another far more than just the alternate colors; cats, dogs, hedgehogs, reptiles, birds – all sorts of humanoid animals are part of the group usually referred to as Mobians (Their official name), or even 'Anthropomorphs'.

The two races have often fallen prey to prejudice between one another as well as great wars, and for a long time they were unable to accept each others differences. But what of these two races, the 'Anthros' and the 'Ovies', is _truly_ different? They all still _think_, reason and even feel and express love much in the same way as each other and even share many of the same languages. Slowly, but surely they have been able to learn how to coexist peacefully, or at least to a degree.

* * *

><p>The continent of Northern Moratia, lying within the Western Hemisphere of Mobius, is split into two countries. The Southern Half is known as the 'United Federation'; a democratic country, governed by a President and renowned for its security group the 'Guardian Unit of Nations'. Whilst Mobians and Overlanders <em>do <em>live together here, it is an Overlander dominated area where racism against the '_Anthros_' is not uncommon.

The Northern country, Knothole, is quite the reverse; a Monarchy country, ruled by a king and queen. Mobians thrive here as the 'Ovies' are now the ones outnumbered and looked down upon.

* * *

><p>About a month ago a threat had arisen in Moratia that threatens not only the well-being of the Overlanders of the United Federation, or the Mobians of Knothole; but everyone in every country on all of Mobius.<p>

But stories throughout the universe often tell that when a threat turns the world dim and grey, there is always a hero who rises to save the day and preserve the cool and, especially in this case, the _blue_ of the world.

This story begins with a question: "Who is the Blue Blur?"


	2. Chapter 1 - Breaking News

"Thanks Chris. I'm Scarlet Garcia, and I'm here _LIVE_ just on the outskirts of _Monopole_ City; just overlooking the enormous battlefield ensuing below." A young red-headed woman told her story to the camera man on a cliff edge over-looking the very high tech-looking city of Monopole. Around her were the anxious crowds prying themselves through one another to get a clear view of the action below. "We've been told that we do not have clearance to send the drone cameras in, but if we lean in just a bit, we can see the efforts of the Guardian Unit of Nations attempting to take back the city after Robotnik took hold of it, just over a week ago. It is currently believed that millions of residents are still trapped in the city, but it is unknown as to what their current fate may be."

The wall-mounted television screen depleted a few bars in volume, as the large, purple Mobian Walrus tossed the remote aside in order to focus on his work.

"Why, ain't that just awful?" a voice called out coming down the stairs into the metallic grey, windowless basement. "What could possess even an overlander like Robotnik to do such a thing?" It was coming from a lovely lady rabbit; known for her robotic left arm and legs. Her metallic feet clanged against the cold, concrete floor as she descended into the room. "Ah mean; _what_ did they ever do to him?" She frowned at the television screen with her fleshly hand on her hip.

The walrus barely lifted his head from his work, "Hey Bunnie" he responded instead, without pause.

She turned back and gave a cheerful smile "Hiiiya Rotor." Her metal arm held a tray with the Walrus's lunch, and carefully avoiding the computer parts and crushed up papers, she made her way over to his table. The smell of anchovy sandwiches was the only thing that was able to wake Rotor from his working trance. "You've been a-busy for so long now that ah thought you'd be hungry so I fixed you some lunch" she smiled, setting the tray in front of him.

Rotor had completely forgotten about the gadget he was working on, pushing up his glasses to get a better look at the meal. "Sardines and Mayo! Aw, you're the _best_ Bunnie" he said.

"Well, don't jus' sit there a-gawkin' at it – eat up!"

Rotor quickly did as he was told; plunging a bite into this succulent delight. Mayonnaise dripped down his tusks and onto his sleeveless, woollen jacket.

He stopped chewing for a moment. Bunnie winced as the walrus frowned at the sandwich, before turning back over to her "Bunnie…"

"Aww shoot, Rotor. I know ya _like_ the regular stuff, but ah thought maybe it'd be best if ya…_maybe_…started watchin' what'cha eat a _teensy _bit more?"

Rotor rubbed his fingers between his eyes in frustration "C'mon Bunnie, you guys have _got_ to stop doing this. It's _my_ body – just let me _eat_ how I wanna _eat_."

"Ah-Ah know Rotor, we're just worried about you is all. You are getting' a bit_...big_...you know…"

Rotor looked at her blankly "I'm a _Walrus_. And besides, I'm happy the way I…am?" Rotor began staring at the screen again, reaching for the remote to turn up the volume. Bunnie followed suit, darting back to the screen when she heard the words:

"Breaking News!" The crowds in the news report were far louder than the last report – they seemed worried and somewhat panicky. The reporter was forced to shout in order to be heard over the crowds "I'm Scarlet Garcia, _LIVE_, at the battlegrounds of Monopole. We have an update here that GUN have _lost_ the battle with Robotnik. I repeat; GUN has _lost._"

"Oh my stars!" Bunnie gasped, placing both hands over her mouth in shock as the news displayed the remains of GUN's outmoded tech.

"With the easy defeat of Mobius's greatest Security Unit; it appears there's little hope for the captives of Monopole. It is unclear what Dr Robotnik plans to do with them, or what he-"

A man in the crowd gave out a fearful cry "MISSILE!" Screaming and scrambling ensued.

"Oh my go…" Scarlet pushed her hand against the camera to move. "Run!" The missiles closed in ever closer.

"No!" Rotor jumped up from his chair.

"Aah!" The reporter gasped, dropping to the floor and flinching. The dust from the crowd cleared. Nothing. Some people began muttering on why the missiles hadn't hit them.

BANG! The missiles exploded several meters away from the cliff-face, causing people to stumble back into the gravel. Scarlet cautiously stood up, never moving her focus from the left-over smoke of the explosion. "I-It looks like something batted it a-away…"

"Look!" A woman leaned over the railing, pointing at the remaining robots moving their focus from the crowd and onto something else. Members of the crowd scrambled up against the railing yet again, pulling out their phones to take a picture of the action below.

Scarlet pulled the cameraman back over to the ledge. "Quick! Quick! Get a shot of that over there!" The camera zoomed as far as it could, but the object in question was nothing but a speeding blue blur.

"It…it's him…" The cameraman uttered.

Scarlet couldn't believe their luck, muttering "It's the blue blur…we got the blue blur live and exclusive…"

"…my _stars_" Bunnie repeated. "It sure is takin' apart those buzz bombers ain't it? Er…whatever it is…"

"Yeah…" Rotor was still in awe of what they just saw. "But even so; these attacks will continue and this 'blue blur' may not always be around to protect people. Call Princess Sally."

"Huh?"

"I think we're gonna have to reschedule our plan for _right_ _now_."


	3. Chapter 2 - Call of the Wind

The magnificent Castle Acorn stood proud at the centre of Arbour City, the Capital of Knothole. Tourists from all over Mobius travel far and wide to see this great structure – particularly in the fall where the greens and oranges of the building perfectly compliment the autumn leaves of the deciduous hill the castle seats upon.

The rarely seen interior too, was a splendid sight; sparkling ceramic floors, enormous violet curtains upon grand window panes, and classic suits of armour lined up as guardians of the halls – even galleries for the guests to view. The only castle capable of rivalling its splendour would be the Castle of Soleanna in Epotolos; but that's for another story.

As per usual, the castle was the home of the country's royal family; housing an incalculable number of bedrooms and dining rooms. This particular, circular dining room, with a backing of 40ft window panes and an equally impressive long dining table, was most often used for discussions between the king and queen with their royal advisors. But on this occasion, there were only the four; cue the family drama.

"Now Bean, we've been meaning to discuss with you on the subject of your recent…'dealings'…with your friends," King Acorn spoke.

His queen added "Your 'Freedom Fighter' activities." Her hands were clasped together and she carried an expression of concern on her face as she stepped forward alongside her King.

"Right, yes. _That_."

Before them, stood their daughter Princess Sally Alicia Acorn "Uh, okay…what about?" The mobian chipmunk nervously ran her fingers through her red hair; she wasn't sure what to think about this meeting, but the way that they were dragging out their sentences and having the doors closed behind them, were definitely not signs of a pleasant conversation about her newly formed team.

"Your father and I are just concerned of your safety, dear" her mother reached out, one arm still around her husband's. "You speak of your team like an army. And with plans of _war_? We just want to make sure that, well, you aren't being serious."

Sally attempted to explain the purpose of her team "But Mom, I am-"

"Of course she isn't" her father interrupted "War is certainly not something the princess of Knothole should currently concern herself with."

"Daddy, I am not trying to go to war. I'm trying to-"

"Well, of course not! How could anyone go to war with only four people – _teenagers_ to be exact! Why, if the opposing side of the Great War were four of even the best fighters in the world, we would surely not have suffered as great a blow to our fine nation as we did."

"But war isn't our aim – who would we even go to war with?"

"You talk about that Robotnik guy a lot in context of your 'team'."

"Y-yes, Robotnik is our target," Sally gently brushed past her parents; trying to get away from being held up against the wall. She looked towards the sunny skies through the enormous windows. "But we're not going to start a **_war_**; we want to free the enslaved people of Monopole and show everyone that if they all work together, they can fight for their own freedom…"

"…uniting Mobians and Overlanders together after centuries of war? I am sorry Bean, but that is just not how real life works – what you are trying to do isn't possible and you needn't worry yourself with that 'Robotnik' character; he's the problem of the United Federation. You have far more important tasks to be getting on with."

Sally arched herself forward, pleading her father to reconsider "But Daddy, I've got a _plan_; you see-"

"A plan?!" He slapped his hand upon his face with frustration. "It's a team of four, _inexperienced_, teenagers; I've already told you. You're **behind** on your studies and you're already thinking of this?!" Queen Acorn released his arm as he began pacing back and forth.

"Yes, but Antoine's father's part of the royal guard, and they're qui-"

"Sally; Antoine is _not_ his father and certainly not Royal Guard material at his current standing."

"W-Well, okay," Sally shifted her eyes side-by-side as she came up with her second point, "but we've got Rotor's ingenuity; I've seen him in action and his mind is _definitely_ capable of producing gadgetry of-"

"Sally, are you forgetting about the 'Boomer' incident?" he sighed. "One of his experiments sent him to the hospital and following that, he blew that up too! It was fortunate that everyone was able to get out in time." There was a brief, uncomfortable, silence as they all recalled the event, before he concluded "He is just as much a danger as he is any help – if not more so. It's like playing roulette with _two_ bullets!"

"Well, there's Bunnie, who-"

The king exhaled once again "_Bunnie_ is physically disabled. You don't send out an already crippled person into a battlefield, Bean; no matter how strong they are."

Sally couldn't believe what she was hearing "Father! Now that's just _cruel_ of you to say! And downright unfair I'll add!"

The queen stepped back in "Now, Sally; you know that is not what your father meant. Bunnie's sick, and what he's saying is-"

"You and I both know she would be a liability; her body requires constant maintenance as it is." The King then turned his head down to the side, with a look of remorse. "And although we banished him, I would not be able to bear having to inform Beauregard of the loss of his only remaining relative."

"But Daddy I-"

"No more 'buts'," he snapped, calming back down swiftly after. "It's a nice ideal Bean, but it cannot be done and, as I've said, you have more important tasks to take care of." Before Sally could say another word, he quickly ended the conversation "Now, I don't want to hear any more of this 'Freedom Fighter' business now, okay?"

Sally dropped her head.

"Sally?" her mother added.

"Fine" Sally answered, and with that, she stormed out of the room with the King and Queen watching after, until they lost sight of her.

"I think that could've been handled a lot better" the queen turned back to her husband.

"There is no perfect way to handle teenagers, Alicia" he smiled.

"Elias was the same."

"He _is_ the same. That boy can be just as difficult as her when he wants to" the king groaned, rubbing between his eyes. He smiled once again as he gazed upon his beautiful chipmunk wife, draped in a golden gown.

"It is only a matter of time before he is crowned king," she said. "Do you think he'll be alright with that responsibility? Is he ready?"

"Elias will be fine, my love. It's our _daughter_, I'm worried about."

"Well, maybe then this 'Freedom Fighter' team of hers isn't such a bad idea – it can provide her with much needed experience of being a leader. She was always so very practical."

"It's _that_, what worries me…"

"Honestly though, Max; can't you just include her in your-" at that moment, the doors opened revealing a Mobian coyote with a blue guard uniform and red cape, alongside a wood-coloured Mobian Owl. "-underground alliance planning," she finished. "Right on cue," she welcomed them.

* * *

><p>Sally fumed through the halls; her father was so stubborn! Her small tail held stiffly, with anger, against her navy blue pants. She straightened up her light blue vest as she accelerated through the busy halls, when she bumped into her brother, Prince Elias, the one person she did not want to see at that time.<p>

After first wafting his cobalt coat from his path, the young prince stretched out his hand to pull up his sister. "Sally! Where are you off to in such a hurry? It couldn't possibly be your studies, could it?" he chuckled. He was a mobian squirrel, like their father, but maintained many of his mother's features too.

Sally rolled her eyes at him; she was not in the mood "I'm just going to get some air…"

Elias's smile faded. "Oh, Dad talked to you?" He said as he gently latched onto his little sister's shoulder, turning her back around.

"Mmhmm."

"Well, I hate to be the one repeating him right now, but I've gotta say Sally, Dad's right. I sort of hold the same concerns."

Sally frowned, placing a hand on her hip. "But you _agreed_ that Robotnik had to be stopped."

"I know, and I _do_. But for once little sister, you've got things far simpler than they are in reality."

Another, rapier, voice joined in with the conversation "Oh, your highness, don't put down the young princess' spirit. Such thinking ought to be _encouraged_ in today's world; great _changes_ are a-comin' you'll see." The voice was harsh, with a somewhat deep, grunting undertone. It was followed by a STEP and CLANG – the sound of someone using a cane as they walked towards the pair.

"Oh, hello Walter" Sally greeted cheerfully. Walter Naugus was quite a strange creature; no-one could quite figure out what he was supposed to be. Very Goblin-like; he had a horn on his head, long pointy ears, a rhino-like hide and great sharp fangs. He strolled around with a jewelled cane and wearing a long cape –he looked as if he was trying to get people to see him as a monster, which many did. Sally, however, thought the opposite; believing him to be a gentle, misunderstood, soul like the characters in stories her mother told her and Elias when they were children.

"I'm beggin' your pardon, your highnesses" he said "But I couldn't help but overhear your talk on that Freedom Fighter topic. It saddens me to hear of all the negative comments about it." He went on to wrap his left arm, ending in an enormous lobster-like claw, around her shoulder. "Quite ingenious, if you ask me though. A _small_, _talented_ army will ne'er be spotted approachin' that Robotnik's base – and then that's when it'd be too late!"

"Exactly!" Sally smiled. Finally, _someone_ understood her.

"Gah! Well, look at the time," he said. "I'm late for the meeting with your father about that 'Underground Alliance' idea of Armand's."

Elias's eyes widened in shock, as they slowly peered over towards Sally. She wasn't supposed to hear about that.

Sally tilted her head "The 'Underground Alliance?'" she said.

"Stop filling her head with ideas!" Elias barked, shaking his fist at the goblin.

Walter gave out a hoarse laugh "I believe you all should better _encourage_ it!" He turned to walk away, a wicked grin plastered across his face "It's like I said, 'great change is a-coming' and _she's_ gonna be the one to get us there! All you've got to do is let her."

Elias blew raspberries under his breath as Naugus carried on down the hall "That guy's insane. How he became dad's closest advisor I'll _never_ understand." He folded his arms and softly shook his head.

"You always say that," Sally laughed.

"I always _mean_ it."

"He's just…_misunderstood_."

"_I'll_ say."

BLEEP-BLEEP. Something rang in Sally's pocket. She pulled out a small device that looked like a flip tablet-phone of some sorts.

"Good afternoon NICOLE" Sally greeted the device.

"Good afternoon Sally," the device, N.I.C.O.L.E, replied. "You have a message from Rotor and Bunnie; they wish for your presence at Rotor's lab as soon as possible."

"Thanks NICOLE. Tell them I'm on my way and contact Antoine as well; I need the whole team together." Sally then replaced NICOLE into her pocket. She looked up to see Elias with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

"So what was _that_ all about?" he said.

"Relax Elias; I'm going to tell them tonight."

"No more Freedom Fighters?"

Sally crossed her fingers behind her back "No more Freedom Fighters."

Elias stared at her for a moment, before finally letting out a breath of relief. "Well alright then, I'll let you go; I have a spar match I have to get to. **Don't** do anything stupid." He playfully pushed his fist against her forehead.

"I never do anything stupid, Elias."

As they turned onto their separate ways, Sally retrieved NICOLE, once again, from her pocket. "NICOLE?" She whispered to the device.

"Greetings Sally."

"Retrieve whatever you can from my father's files around the 'Underground Alliance'."

"Retrieving, Sally."

"Leave no trace."

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Sally had finally gotten the team together for a meeting in Rotor's lab. She readied her checklist; "Antoine?"<p>

"Oh! Uh, qui my princess." The coyote answered, after first jumping in fright. Antoine often wore a blue royal guard's uniform, like his father, but _always_ wore a worried expression.

"Bunnie?" Sally then called out.

The mobian rabbit cyborg tipped her brown western hat up, revealing her green eyes, "Now, Sally-girl, you do realise that there are only four of us here?" Bunnie replied raising an eyebrow as leaned back on her chair with her metallic feet crossed atop the table.

"It's procedure Bunnie – this stuff has to be done; it keeps everything organised and _secure_. Now will you answer the register?"

"So why can't you just look at the folks in the room and then quickly check-"

"_Bunnie?_" Sally repeated.

With a smile and a roll of her eyes, Bunnie conceded "Yes ma'am."

"Excellent," Sally ticked "And last, but not least, Rotor."

"Here, Sally" Rotor responded. Bunnie smiled and shook her head at the ridiculousness of the action once again, before the meeting was 'officially' announced to be in session.

"Well Rotor, since you were the one to call us in, could you tell us what you've found?" Sally said.

"I assume you've seen the news today?" he replied.

"No, why?"

"They were showing _live_ footage of GUN's attempt to take back the city. Their bots were torn apart in **minutes**."

"Zoot Alor!" Antoine cried "Then it is hopeless!"

"Now simmer down there Antoine" Bunnie said, "Rotor hasn't finished yet."

"Oh Bunnie, I think you are being too, how you say, 'Opti-misty-ic'? If ze GUN cannot stop him, then how can **we**?"

"Ahem!" Rotor continued his findings "They also caught the Blur on screen."

Sally gasped "The blur?"

"Ze bleu blur? Oh Routor; he has lost it from our hopelessness…" Antoine sobbed, slamming his face into the table.

"So you saw him?" Sally leapt in.

"Er…yeah." Rotor scratched his head "I don't get why you still think it's a _mobian_ though. I mean look at it. Nothing _alive _can move as fast as that thing must've been doing. And the way it destroyed those robots just by running into them! There's no way a _mobian_ could've done that."

"But they all called it a 'he' on all the news reports," Bunnie said.

"Just because everyone **said**, doesn't mean everyone's **right**. I mean, the thing smacked a **missile** out of the way. What mobian, overlander or whatever could do that?"

"It doesn't matter what it actually is – as long as everyone else believes it to be a mobian, it works _perfectly_ with our plan." Sally began rapidly scribbling down onto her notepad "And with that footage circling people's minds, we must strike while the iron is hot."

"We're doing that _now_?" Bunnie exclaimed in shock; nearly falling back on her chair in the process. "Is the plan even fully ready?"

"Well, I've adapted it a little around the plans for the 'Underground Alliance' that NICOLE dug up from my father's files. We can use the tunnels that they're using – the ones that they modified from the Great War. It'll give us _perfect_ cover on our way to Monopole."

Bunnie sat as normal on her chair, pulling her hat down to shade her concerned expression. "Stealing stuff from her daddy's stuff now, too…" she mumbled.

"Ah, qui. Ze 'Underground Alliance' my fathair brought to ze King," Antoine said. "Zat is ze 'D'Coolette' genius, non?" He smiled. His comment was ignored still.

"Not much else has changed though. Everyone knows their roles, right?" She began packing a light rucsac whilst muttering to herself "None of my concern, huh? Not possible? That didn't stop **you**. He lied to me, and now I'm gonna prove him wrong."

Upon hearing the comment on 'roles', Antoine suddenly broke out in cold sweats and approached Sally quite tensely "Ah, my princess, erm…about ze mission." He paused a moment before continuing "I was wondering if it would be better if I was to accompany **you** to ze main computer room?" He gave a short, nervous cackle "Uh, you know – so that I can protect you from ze dangers in Robotnik's base, qui?" He pleadingly clasped his hands together and looked intensely into the princess's eyes.

"Well that's very thoughtful of you Antoine – and quite chivalrous too." Sally knew exactly what he was doing, and in order to reduce the arguments, she played along. "Oh, but who will do the most important job of all with you helping me?"

"Huh?" He twitched. His ears, even pricked upwards. "Ze _most_ important job? What is zat?" Antoine grew very curious, losing his previous signs of worry.

"Oh you shouldn't worry yourself about _that,_ Antoine. You've already done so much for us." Her sarcastic tone was completely over-the-top. Bunnie and Rotor attempted to contain their laughter, cupping their hands over their mouths to stop it from escaping. Any bit that escaped only made their struggle harder to bear. "But, if you're with me, we have no-one at the entrance to warn us of danger. We just need to find someone _brave_ and _cunning_ enough to do the job; but with such limited time…" she placed her hand over her forehead dramatically "…I just don't think that it would be possible."

Antoine latched onto the bait with a vice-like grip. He raised his hand in a salute "My Princess; it would be most honour-able for me to take zis responsibility." Rotor threw his head back in near-silent laughter; Antoine's gullibility never got old.

"That's really nice of you Antoine, _but_ I thought you wanted to accompany me?"

"I am sorry my princess, but ze team needs ze brave and _cunning_ man on ze job. I _must_ do it for ze team!"

"Aw, thank you Antoine." Sally smiled, giving him a small peck on the cheek.

Antoine blushed and smiled like a drunken sailor. "I do what I can." A _really_ drunk sailor.

When he was finally able to pick himself up, Rotor asked "Sally, when are we going?"

"We're leaving at dawn," she said with a very serious look. "Be ready."


	4. Chapter 3 - The Plan

Their dawn trek through the catacombs of Knothole's abandoned tunnels brought the group through underground stations and soon into the high-tech city of Monopole. Sally had NICOLE download the maps for the underground tunnels being developed by the underground alliance project – adding in the abandoned passageways from the Great War, allowing the team to easily pass straight through into the city's sewer systems. That was likely the alliance's plan; a plan never fully realised by the Mobian army, as a truce between the two parties was called before they were given a chance – but it would've allowed the armies to completely take over Overlander cities just from their Sewer network. It was to be their game-changing move and now it was hers.

"Ah've never seen such an empty city before," Bunnie said as she scanned around their surroundings. "What do you make of it Rotor? This here stuff should be up your alley."

"It's pretty strange," Rotor said, hauling himself out of their entryway "On a regular day, Monopole's streets would be _teaming_ with overlanders and mobians alike. You'd hear the cars flying above – one of the few cities where they're legal, buzzing and humming around." He was looking up with a somewhat disappointed expression on his face. He quickly took a glance at the shadowed surroundings and shivered "This quiet, frankly…just gives me the creeps."

Antoine wasn't doing much better. "Oh; we are going to be spotted!" he yelped.

"Hush, Antoine." Bunnie wafted her hand at him behind her as she followed closely behind Sally. "We don't know what's out there."

Antoine trembled, chattering his teeth on his fingers. "Oh, I…kn-know what's out there. Ze robots with ze _big_, laser eyes," he made a great eye shape with his hands over his face to describe their impending peril, "zat will 'pew-pew' us!"

"Antoine…" the Walrus in front of him groaned. The gritting of his teeth told the coyote to be silent, but he carried on anyway.

"Non!" His eyes widened in horror and his voice heightened in pitch, "they take us to _Robotnik_ who then melts us in ze boiling oil so zat **_we_**, are being turned into ze fu-el for his robots!"

The team whisked around, giving the coyote a penetrating "SSHHH!"

After the shaking her head at him, Sally slowly peered around the wall. "Okay guys, we're in the clear so far. NICOLE's brought us pretty close to the Kintobor Tech Lab where Robotnik's bound to be. We just need to sneak on over and find a way inside."

"Well if this is his main base, why isn't there a bunch of guards waiting to fry us?" Rotor asked.

"Robotnik's concentrating his forces on conquering other city states and fighting off GUN opposition. NICOLE was able to tap into GUN's satellite data-stream and retrieve their data on the city; it turns out his base's defences are poor. I doubt he suspected anyone to get _into_ the city; thus he focused his resources on keeping people out."

"Astounding work NICOLE, so I guess this is going to be a piece of cake."

NICOLE bleeped "I advise caution; Robotnik still has scout robots, labelled 'SwatBots' that monitor the city's streets and skyline. They are stationed to monitor the activity of the city's captive residents. There is insufficient data on their methods against threats to their master."

"So we don't know what Robotnik's keepin' them for?" Bunnie asked.

"Negative," The little device responded "Data Insufficient"

"Whatever it is Bunnie, we know it can't be good." Sally peered back around the corner, darting back as a spotlight motioned past. "Get down!" She leapt back into the alley's shadows. A box-shaped bot flew high above them, shining a blinding white light upon the streets. A low, humming sound followed, vibrating the walls of the alley.

Antoine shuddered with fear, his teeth chattering. "Um, pardon my interrupting my princess, um, but how are we getting to ze base with those **things** up there?"

"And that's just the air-scouring models," Rotor added "If those things took out GUN's forces with ease; I'd hate to see what they'd do to us."

"Don't worry," Sally said calmly, "We just have to be careful." She pointed ahead of them "Whilst it's still dark out; we dash to the shadows behind buildings. Slow and steady."

"But if we take it slow, we'll never make it before we lose our cover," Rotor pointed out.

"We'll take it slow, but do it with _haste_."

"Even if that _did_ make sense," Bunnie said, "What about gettin' up to that there bridge to the base?" Bunnie said, pointing in the direction of the base. "It's gotta be several stories up."

"We'll think of that when we cross it." Sally turned back to the handheld computer "NICOLE, activate proximity sensors; make sure we don't run into any of those SwatBots without knowing."

"Activating, Sally."

Sally looked over at her team "Okay, are we ready Freedom Fighters?"

Antoine looked down to the floor, rubbing his arm nervously. Rotor looked up to the skies, spotting a number of flying SwatBots. They gave no answer.

Bunnie rolled her eyes at the pair. "Ah'm with ya, all the way Sally-girl." She put her robotic hand out in front of her "We're gonna stop this Robotnik and prove what us Freedom Fighters are all about."

Sally smiled back, putting her hand atop Bunnie's "Thanks Bunnie." They turned back over to the pair behind them.

Rotor immediately came and put his hand in too "Of course I'm in. Let's stick it to Robotnik!"

Antoine shook his head and stuck it up proudly; attempting to simulate himself swallowing his own fear. "I am ready too, my princess and friends." He put his hand in too.

"Go Freedom Fighters!" They cheered softly, raising their hands into the air.

They then all turned a look to Antoine, who still had his hand at the centre; a confused expression plastered across his muzzle. "Oh, zat is what we do? Heheh, whoops." He raised his hand finally, and cheered out in response "Woohoo, Freedom Fighters." He blushed.

Sally ran out to the first alley she could see. It was dark out; the sun had barely poked out over the horizon. She peered around the sides, and beckoned the others. First Bunnie. Then Rotor. Finally Antoine. No SwatBots yet.

The next alley was a little further out. She took a glance at NICOLE's screen, before running out towards the next part.

NICOLE bleeped.

A SwatBot appeared around the corner, its spotlight creeping towards her. Without hesitation, she leapt into a roll; tumbling into the alley, before pressing herself up against the wall. Her heart pounded as the bot hovered low, past her spot.

"You okay there Sally-girl?" Bunnie called out softly.

"I'm fine." Sally then gestured them over. "Quickly!"

As the last arrived at their spot, Sally was about to sprint to the next one when Rotor pulled her back. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"The street lights," he said.

"What about them? They're off and there's no bots around."

"It's a very efficient city, those are proximity sensor lights; they only turn on in the dark when they detect movement, because in a city full of flying cars, only _people_ would be around down here." He read on their faces that this may not have been the time for the 'history lesson' he so wished to do, and swiftly returned to the point "If those SwatBots are as advanced as I think they are; any change of light will attract them over here to inspect."

"I see."

"If we had come later on, we wouldn't have this problem…" Rotor said.

"But we wouldn't have had nearly the same level of cover if we did. We're just going to have to make do."

"If I may, my princess, but perhaps we could split up from here?" Antoine suggested.

"Hey, Sally-girl – that ain't too bad an idea there. I think Sugah-Twan's on to somethin'," Bunnie said "We all know what we have to do and where to go, so we won't be slowing each other down."

"It's not part of the plan!" Sally replied. "We stick together _now_ and we split up on the bridge – that way we watch each other's for a longer period of time before the moment that we _have_ to split up."

"You're bein' stubborn Sal. It's a good idea; ah say it makes the plan better. We spend less time messin' 'round on where we're all meant to be once we get to that bridge, because we'll all just go straight there. What's your problem?"

"The problem is if we deviate from the plan, Bunnie, we don't know what could happen? We planned out everything, so nothing could possibly-"

BLEEP-BLEEP.

The group quickly pressed against the wall as another bot swept the nearby area.

"That was a little _too_ close." Rotor gasped "Thank goodness for NICOLE."

NICOLE responded "I suggest that you make haste with your mission. Daybreak will occur in exactly thirty-two minutes and eighteen seconds."

Bunnie directed her attention back to the chipmunk girl "Quit bein' so stubborn Sal; just _admit_ that someone made an improvement on your idea. We can even draw away the SwatBots this way!"

"All of the gear is in Rotor's bag; how're we to split that up?!" Sally snarled.

Bunnie growled back in return "Now you're just making up excuses!"

"Guys, Guys!" Rotor waved his hands around, trying to bring their minds back to where they were. "Look Sally, in all fairness we don't all need **all** of the equipment. You just need NICOLE and your communicator, I just need my device and Antoine's only talking us through the activity at the base's entrance. We didn't even need the extra stuff."

Bunnie shook her head and made a gesture at him "Now you've gone and made the 'unnecessary' comment…"

"**Fine!** Fine. You win; we'll **deviate** from the plan," Sally said through her gritted teeth. But she calmed quickly afterwards. "But everyone knows what they're doing, right?" Bunnie was somewhat impressed and calmed down herself.

"Qui, my princess; I am ze look-out from all ze dangers. I will let you know if I see anything suspicious," Antoine saluted.

"Bunnie and I will infiltrate the centre of the base in search of Robotnik's source of power. When we do, we short it out with a couple of my little friends here" Rotor said, displaying one of his inventions.

Sally took a deep breath and exhaled hard. "Alright. But you won't have NICOLE's sensors to warn you of SwatBots."

Bunnie dashed over and gave her a warm hug "You be careful too." Sally smiled and hugged her back.

And with that, they all went their separate ways.

Antoine climbed to the top of a tower to keep watch over the base. He had a pair of binoculars and a communicator. "Zoot, it is quite chilly up 'ere," he shuddered as he reached the top. "I wish I brought some warmer clothes."

He scanned his surroundings. His elevation was somewhere along the middle of the skyscrapers that populated the landscape. Not quite the clear view that one would usually want, but for Antoine it was far more than high enough. Um, so let's see; nothing over there, a few creepy SwatBots over there but I think they are leaving and nothing over there." Everything seemed calm and clear. Just as he liked it. A spark of the sun's rays peered through the myriads of buildings; he may even get an enjoyable view of the sunrise.

With a wicked smile and a tussle of his whiskers, Antoine gave out a laid-back remark "This is going to be, as Rotor would say, 'Cake'!"

Bunnie and Rotor made their way inside. Splitting off from Sally, who made her way up the base, they attempted to trek down.

"Everything is, how you say, A-okay from looking up here," Antoine's voice sounded from the communicator.

"Thanks Antoine. You keep yourself safe up there, ya hear?" Bunnie relayed back.

"Wow, Robotnik's pretty cocky; I don't even see any evidence of security in his own base!" Rotor laughed.

"That may be so, sugah. But don't be so cocky yourself; he's supposed to be a genius, remember? We should be careful, he could have traps."

"We've been walking through here for a while now. There's not even a single _cleaning_ bot here!"

"The floor's so clean though; somethin's up." Bunnie wrapped herself up in her arms. The quiet gave her chills. "I ain't too fond of it."

"Relax Bunnie, living with Sally all these years has made you almost as uptight as _she_ is."

"Ah ain't **uptight**, Rotor," she snapped in response, a hand firmly placed on her hip. "And lower yer voice", she whispered, after noticing that she herself had also been yelling. "Ah'm just bein' careful is all. My moves and yer gadgets ain't gonna save us here, ah fear…"

"Just take a minute to look around you Bunnie. There's nothing here, not a sound."

"That's what ah'm **afraid** of." They came to an enormous room where the floor ended in a balcony that encircled a great pit in the centre. Within this opening was a great case, containing a bright red energy orb pumping power rays through gargantuan tubes and cables. The wires stretched out all over the room like wild vines.

"I-Is that what ah think it is? Already?" Bunnie said in shock.

"Like I've been saying Bunnie" Rotor smiled, whipping out his device. "It's all gonna be '_cake'_".

Sally ran through the maze of hallways, trying to find the main control room. As with Bunnie and Rotor, she hadn't seen any form of security measures. No cameras, no guards, tripwires or even any kind of trap. There was nothing. Something felt wrong though.

"Antoine; what's your status? Over."

"Salut, mon prince-" there was the sudden sounds of crackles in the signal as her coyote companion attempted to respond. "Everyth…up here! How…" More cackling made it near impossible to decipher him any further.

"Antoine? You're breaking up. Can you hear me?"

"Qui…*crackle*ca-*whistle*hear m-*fizz*". No good. It sounded like he could hear her, but not the other way around.

Sally turned to her only source of security "NICOLE, have your scanners picked up anything?"

"Interference detected; unable to detect any form of security cameras, sensors or robot signals. Kintobor Tech: Monopole HQ floor plan location unknown."

"Interference…" Sally stopped running for a moment. Looking up, she found a sign above a doorway saying 'Control Room'. "Maybe I don't need a map; it's almost like he's inviting me in. I suppose he doesn't know too much about strategies."

"System updates detected. Sally, requesting permission to initiate system reboot to install necessary updates."

Sally looked puzzled. "Updates? Did Dr Ellidy send over some upgrades to your programming?" She glanced back down the hallway. "Permission granted NICOLE. You update; it might even help us to get past the blocked signal. Besides, with the way things have been going so far, I think I know a saying Rotor would be making right about now. A _dumb_ saying, but relevant all the same." She hurried down the hall.

Antoine was beginning to get bored alone on his rooftop. All of the bots carried on their circular paths; nothing seemed to change. His guard down, Antoine drew circles on the metallic floor with a loose piece of metal plating.

The sun emerged further above the horizon. Its rays became dappled through the now glistening metallic structures. Antoine smiled with a feeling as warms as the rays themselves "Well, at least I get to be seeing ze sunrise. C'est magnifique." Little did he realise the bot leading off into a different course in the distance.

Bunnie and Rotor made their way down the narrow path towards the behemoth of a power source. He pulled out many of his orb-shaped devices from earlier and began studying the energy container.

"Ah've been meaning to ask you, Rotor," Bunnie said, "But, what _is_ that thing there anyhow?"

He held one up into the fluorescent blue lighting, twirling the shiny white orb around with a proud smile, as if admiring himself through the device. "I don't have a name for it yet, but it's essentially a compact yet powerful, electromagnetic pulse bomb."

Bunnie quickly took a step back "B-Bomb?! Boomer? Are you serious?"

"Don't call me that," Rotor frowned, waving her off "It's an **E-M-P** bomb – it doesn't actually explode. All it will do is short-circuit the electronics in this base; that's why we're here at the centre; we set it off next to the base's power source and then _everything's_ fried." He drew up an expression on his face that looked like a mischievous child that was about to pull off the prank of a lifetime. "It'll take Robotnik **hours** to fix, but with Sally up there – it'll be hours he doesn't have!" he joined Bunnie in a hi-five.

"That's great Rotor!" Her face then returned to being puzzled "But uh, why aren't ya doin' it then?"

He darted his attention back to the core "Uhh, well, I need to find a safe spot to rest it first…"

"Whaddya mean, **safe**?" Bunnie crossed her arms and frowned. "Ah thought you said this thing didn't explode?"

"Well it…shouldn't. I've not tested it yet, I basically only finished it yesterday, when you brought me those sandwiches."

Bunnie fanned herself nervously "Aw Rotor, you're done gonna blow us to high heaven."

"I'm not gonna blow us to 'high heaven'. I just need to rest it on something here; we'll take a few steps back and it should all be good."

"Well, can ya hurry it up a bit? This place gives me the creeps. You'd think a base like this wouldn't be so quiet…"

Sally neared the end of the halls; she was getting nearer to the control room. Despite the time she had spent traversing the labyrinth of a base, she had yet to come across any security measures of any form. Growing uneasy now, she glanced over at NICOLE's screen in search of some kind of salvation. An explanation. Something – _anything_ that would break this eerie silence. The spinning update wheel was still present.

"Must be quite an update. C'mon NICOLE, I need you to broadcast this to everyone…"

Sally stopped dead in her tracks. A voice. It was faint, but she could tell it was nearby. Cautiously, she followed the sounds.

The path brought her to a dark room. As she crept closer, the voice grew clearer. Only to raise the tension.

"Dr Kintobor, is no more…" it said.

The haunting voice wrapped around her like a winter's chill. It dragged her closer.

The room was full of monitors, barely lighting up the room at all. The shadows closed in all around her, grasping at her feet.

"_I_ have made the life-changing upgrades to Metropolis, therefore it is _mine_ to take hold of; my **Grand** Metropolis…"

_There!_ She spotted a large chair in the middle of the room. Blood red, the screens it was facing actually made it look darker than it was.

She slowly drew down her bag, dragging it carefully across the floor.

The voice grew ever clearer. It looked as if someone was still sat there.

Her heart thumped; the sound of a hammer striking a tree.

Her hand emerged from the rucksack, joined by a rope.

The beating of her heart had grown so intense that it was starting to hurt.

Tip-toe, tip-toe. She closed in on the chair. She licked her lips, readying her hands. She shuddered slightly. Eyes opened wide.

"They will not give these cities to _me_; therefore I'm going to take _them_..."

She spun the chair around, thrusting her arms forward as she roared "Your reign of tyranny is…over?"

"WELCOME TO ROBOTROPOLIS!"

A laughing, metal Robotnik figure greeted her. She should've known; it was just a recording of his big reveal back in the Grand Metropolis a month ago. The head of the figure bobbed up and down on a spring as if mocking the girl who had fallen for its prank. The smile plastered on its face didn't help the situation at all.

A horrifying thought suddenly ran down her spine. _Wait. This was recorded, waiting in this __**chair**__. _It took her less than a second to figure out what was going to happen next.

_Oh my gosh; it's a trap – they know we're here!_ Sally turned to run back into the hallway. SLAM! The same sound her heart seemed to have made, as the door shut on its own.

"Leaving so soon, princess?" A voice called out from the shadows beside the door. Sally quivered, her eyes widened as she stepped back. A short, bald, young man sporting a large, pointed, nose emerged from the darkness upon her. "You must be tired from your long trip up from the _entrance_" he cackled.

"Y-You're not Robotnik." She was hunched over, cowering beneath the overlander, despite him not being much taller than her.

"So perceptive…" he sneered.

Sally desperately shook her computer companion but to no avail as the device continued to instead display a loading wheel. "C'Mon NICOLE, I need you to warn the others!"

"Such an _adorable_ little contraption you have there, but _my_ uncle is a genius beyond the comprehension of even the entire globe and supplied me with the means I needed to block out your computer's sensors!"

Sally attempted to change her look of despair, to a victorious smirk "Oh yeah, well it's too late! Even as we speak, my team is about to cut your entire base's power supply. Even with Robotnik not here, this is only number one of our streak of victories!" She battled the beginning of a tremble in her lips in order to sustain her look of confidence.

The overlander laughed and pointed at the now worried again chipmunk. "HaHA! Bold words for someone not in control" he said, clicking his fingers over to the screens. Instantly they blinked on, showcasing Sally's friends in peril as a multitude of SwatBots swarmed them! "Behold your so-called 'victory'."

She spun around in shock and horror at the images flashing up upon the monitors all around.

"System Restored." NICOLE had returned. "WARNING! Multiple camera systems and SwatBots detected! Abort Mission! Abort Mission!"

The sound of her friends crying out for help flooded NICOLE's comms.

Antoine backed away, on top of the tower; edging nearer and nearer to a lethal drop. "Heheheh. Uh, bonjour monsieur robot; my are you one, eh, good looking robot. Now I am sure that your boss, ze doctor Robotnik, does not like ze intruders bothering him. _So_, I am going on my way now, up-up and away from here," he laughed nervously "and you will never see _moi_ again, and _everything_ will be – AGHH!" he yelped as the bots revealed baton-like protrusions sparking with high voltages. "My Princess! Rotor! Bunnie! Where are you being?" He yelped yet again as he barely evaded another strike from the electrified batons. "I have been calling you for twenty minutes!"

Bunnie and Rotor were trapped behind hundreds of SwatBot attackers. Bunnie tried to fend them off, but for every one she smashed, three more had taken its place. "Rotor! Ah, think we need to cut down that power now! I don't know how much more of this I can – Oof! - take!"

"I've got no choice then. FIRE!" he clicked the trigger sending out a massive wave of energy; instantly knocking out the bots. The power was out. Even the monitors in the room that Sally watched from switched off.

Unfortunately there was another side effect…

Bunnie screamed in absolute agony as her cybernetics fizzed and sparked. Her body crunched forward. It threw her back as she cried out once again. Sally broke out into tears as she heard her friend's deathly shrieks. "Th-This…isn't…happening…"

"BUNNIE!" Rotor yelled as the rabbot dropped to the floor "Oh my gosh! What have I done?" He ran to her side as her body began violently convulsing "How could I have missed this?! What have I done?!" Tears welled up in his eyes as he held her. "Bunnie! I'm _so_ sorry!"

All of a sudden, the power returned and the SwatBots returned to their feet. Rotor looked up in horror as the bots marched towards them. "No!" he yelled, scrambling himself and Bunnie backwards on the narrow walkway "Th-That's impossible!"

The images on the monitors returned also. "No! Please, leave them alone." Sally pleaded.

"It appears that your 'brilliant' plan has failed, princess." The overlander cackled.

"Please, let them go." She was on her knees now, pulling on his green trousers."

With a look of disgust on his face, he shoved the girl off of his person with his boot. "They were caught trying to _resist_ my uncle's revolution." He walked towards the girl, who was trying to pick herself off the cold, metallic floor. "Surely, you remember what my uncle said about 'resistors', princess?" he replied, lifting up the tape recorder; a crazed grin on his face as he clicked the play button.

The words struck the girl's very being "Those who resist…face **death**".

"You've failed princess! Guess you should've listened to Mommy and Daddy before coming out here, now we're going to use _you_ to wrap it all up!" Sally dropped to the floor hearing this. "In fact, I'm glad your little computer is back on. I believe you wanted to _film _this for all of Mobius to see, right? Well I hope that Mobius is ready for a **show!** BAHAHAHAHA!"

Tears poured from the girls eyes "Please! No, you – you can't do this!"

"All right boys, let's clean up! Let them know never to mess with the name Robotnik! GAHAHAHAHAH!"

A sound like thunder roared over his comms, ceasing his laughter immediately.

"What was that?" he said. "What was THAT?"

A bot responded over a signal, "SwatBot units surrounding Mobian Coyote terminated."

"What?! How?" He spun to look at the monitors surrounding that area. Sally, dried her eyes as she looked at the overlander's fearful expression.

"All units at power core level terminated."

Another sound, like thunder, followed.

"What's going on here?!" Snively's eyes grew wide with fear. "What is it?!" He began to hear the explosions in person; not through the radio, but with his own ears. It was close, and coming in fast. "Eh…Eh…Err I want every unit to protect the control room. You hear me?! Save Me!"

Sally looked up to the door, pushing herself up to stand.

"All units in control room proximity terminated."

"No-NO!" Snively flailed his arms around and tried to run.

The steel door burst off the wall; forming a door-shaped imprint on the other side of the room. Both the overlander and the squirrel froze in place.

Gale force winds encircled the two. Objects were flung across the room. The pair was torn between shielding their ears from the jet-level roar of the wind and grabbing onto something solid instead, so as not to be tossed around the room.

As quickly as it began, it stopped. Before them stood a blue hedgehog, his back facing towards them.

"Th-the blue blur?" Sally uttered again in amazement.

The hedgehog swung around. "Whoah! What happened to your hair? Did _I_ do that?" he laughed.

Still in shock, the overlander unconsciously caressed his bald, apart from three long hair strands, head before snapping into a fit of rage "It's a _medical_ condition you filthy rodent! How dare you break into my facility and mock me!"

The hedgehog continued to tease him, having no fear of the current situation at all "Oh! Heheh; and with a nose like that _too_, I know _I'd _be grumpy!"

'_How's he so fearless?' Sally thought. '_This overlander controls all sorts of powerful weapons and he tells jokes!'

Snively growled. "Oh yeah? Well let's see if you're still making jokes with laser holes through your corpse!" he screamed. "Fire all lasers at the blue one!"

Sally gasped. "Look Out!"

The hedgehog turned to the turrets that opened up on the ceiling. Lasers ricochet off the walls and floor, but he was even faster.

Squirreling his way around them, he stopped every second to make another joke. "Yawn", "C'mon, a piece of _cheese_ could dodge that" and "Oh! I think you singed my tail! Oh wait, no you didn't!"

"Hold still. Hold Still!" Snively whined.

The hedgehog leapt into the air, rolling into a high-speed ball and decimating the laser turrets where they stood. Before anyone could react, he rushed on over to the startled chipmunk, lifting her into his arms.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he rested a hand behind her head.

"Relax; it's just to prevent whiplash" he chuckled. "Hey Nosy!" he turned his attention to the flustered overlander "Apparently you've got another twenty-five seconds until this place blows up!"

Both Sally and Snively's eyes shot open "B-Blows up?!"

"Yup; see ya!" And after a dastardly wicked grin, he rushed off at a speed so fast, that after-images were left behind.

"AGH! Activate Escape pod! Activate Escape Pod!" Snively banged against the walls.

As the building collapsed, the overlander looked upon the ruins in a hover pod. "Defeated…Oh, Uncle Ivo won't like this one bit." He grimaced over the sight for a few short moments, stroking his eggplant-shaped head. "No matter; I'll get the princess of Knothole yet! It's only a set-back! I just need to retrieve some reinforcement, and this Blue Blur won't get in my way again."

The blue hedgehog came to a sliding halt, releasing the princess back onto semi-solid land "There you go mi-lady!" he bowed playfully.

She was still unable to walk in a straight line and her head continued to spin. "I…think…I'm going to…throw up…"

She snapped out of it when she saw that all her friends had been gathered to that spot. "Oh no, Bunnie!" she called out as she ran to the rabbot's side. "What happened to her?"

Rotor, guilt-ridden, shook his head violently "I-I-I should've _known_ better! The blast messed with her cybernetics; I made a miscalculation! The signal wasn't fine-tuned enough. I should've _tested_ it, I should've-"

"It's okay Rotor, there's a lot of 'Should'ves' that could've happened back there, but what's important now is that we've got to help Bunnie. Look at her fur already…" Bunnie's fur had begun to pale, her fingers continued to twitch. "…we're running out of time, we're losing her!"

"We need to be getting her back to Knothole!" Antoine said, attempting to hurry them back to where they entered the city.

The blue hedgehog stepped in "Knothole?! That place is way too far away for you guys to carry her. _I'll_ run her to a doctor."

"But sir," Sally pleaded "This is _Robotnik_ territory; none of the residents have left their homes."

"Well, is there a way to slow things down on your way there?"

"We'll need a high level of constant energy; it should regulate her cybernetic functions for a while, albeit, with the damage she's sustained it'll only be at a lower level – but it'll be enough," Rotor said, "But I'm not sure where we co-"

"Like a power ring?" the hedgehog jumped. "Got it!" He whistled out into the wind "Yo, Tails! Over here! We need ya!"

A yellow fox with a pair of bushy tails rotating like helicopter blades flew down from above. He dragged a brown sack on the floor as he ran over. The rest of the group, in this dire time, barely responded to the new face before them.

The older hedgehog retrieved a glowing, gold ring from the sack. This wasn't your typical piece of jewellery; the ring was large enough to fit around one's wrists with little risk of getting stuck.

Rotor took the ring, wonder filling his eyes as he placed it gently upon her chest. Immediately, her colour returned.

"S-Sally-girl…" the rabbot slit open her eyes for a moment "Who's the hedge-hunk over there?" before closing them once again.

"I…I think she's stable for now," Rotor said. "But we need to get her back to Knothole quickly, and we may need more of those, 'rings' for the journey."

"Knothole?" the fox repeated.

Sally led them back to the tunnels as the group hurried their friend back to Knothole for medical help as the overlord's nephew plotted his next move.


	5. Chapter 4 - Sonic and Tails

"Will she be okay doctor?"

"She will be fine, princess, but we would like to keep an eye on her for the time being," the duck doctor, fittingly named Doctor Quack, stroked his feathery beard as he comforted the chipmunk princess. "Her cybernetics had taken quite a hit. Under normal circumstances in mobians with metallic limbs, this would be fine as the limb circuitry alone would become paralyzed – and only temporarily at that…" he turned a concerned eye through the glass at the cyborg bunny, "But miss Rabbot, as we both know is a unique case. Her cybernetics are attached directly to her central nervous system. A shock to her limbs is a shock to her entire CNS."

The colour was mostly lost from Sally's fur as she stared into Bunnie's ward.

"But thanks to your quick actions, she's been stabilized and should make a full recovery," the doctor attempted to shed the dire mood he had started; even putting on a warm smile. "In fact, I'm sure she'll be discharged by tomorrow morning," he said, fiddling with his eye patch.

Sally never once, took her gaze away from the window. "Thank you Doctor."

There was a brief silence. Only the sound of a clock ticking on the wall behind could be heard. The doc had his wings in his coat pockets as he watched her.

He turned to leave. "Doctor?" Sally called after him, still not taking her eyes off of the ward room. He turned his head back slightly in response.

"I…" she swallowed. "I trust…that our"

"Patient confidentiality," he stopped her. "I will say nothing to the king on this. But I ask, princess, that you not pursue such dangerous dreams any longer." He started walking down the hall, "You and your friends are free to go in and see her for a little while, but she needs her rest." He waved out his wing and vanished around the corner.

The group had gathered around the bed stood watching their unconscious friend, as the machine pumped a pulse through her. She looked cold and colourless. A few shades of violet around her lips and some swelling where the machine was connected to her.

Rotor, it seemed, was the most upset. "Oh Bunnie…" he dropped down onto the bed "I'm so sorry. I should've run more tests…**_a_**test – at the very least."

The rabbot began murmuring something, her eyes still shut, and the sound barely coming out as a whisper. Rotor crept closer.

"Rotor…" she muttered "You're…on mah leg…"

Rotor leapt off; rolling backwards in the process.

"Bunnie, are you okay?" Sally said, rushing to her side.

Her eyes cracked open faintly "Oh, this…this is nuthin'…" She breathed heavily; wincing after every so many pulses the machine shot through her. "This Rabbot'll…be up and outta here…in two shakes of a duck's tail!" She tilted her head slowly to look upon her friends.

"Psst, Sally-girl," she uttered, "Aren't y'all gonna…_ngh_…introduce me to that hunk-hog over there?"

"Oh, right!" Sally leapt back up to stand, "Bunnie, this is…"

The blue hedgehog stepped right up to the patient "Sonic, ma'am. Sonic the Hedgehog" he knelt down and kissed her hand, triggering a blush out of her.

"G-Garsh!" she gasped.

He spun around, pointing to the fox-boy behind "And this is my buddy, Tails."

"Tails?" Sally was confused on why any parent would name their child such a name. Or _Sonic_, for that matter.

"Well, my _real_ name's Miles Prower, but my friends call me Tails," he quickly glanced a look at his pair of bushy, yellow, tails.

"Ze Prowers?" Antoine exclaimed, looking to Sally.

"You mean, like Rosemary and Amadeus Prower?" Sally asked.

"Mom and Dad?! You know them?" Tails dashed over to her, anxious eyes staring into hers. "W-Where are they? Are they in this city?"

"I…I'm sorry. I _know_ them; they were actually close family friends. But they went missing years ago. We didn't even know they had a son."

"Oh…" his head drooped in disappointment.

"Say…ain't you the one that saved mah life?" Bunnie coughed, attempting to change the subject.

Tails whisked around, gesturing to himself in surprise "Me?!"

"Who else bud?" Sonic smiled proudly, prodding the fox-boy with his elbow "You're the one with all the ideas!"

"I don' know _what_ would've happened if you hadn't been there to help sugah" Bunnie added.

"It was ze, how you say, 'good show!'" Antoine added, the team in turn crowded the fox boy to commend him.

Tails blushed "Aww, it was nothing – really!"

"What were they anyway?" Rotor asked. "I've never seen them before; and they're so powerful too."

"Oh! Those are our 'Power Rings'. Sonic's uncle invented them; a special alloy he discovered that fused waste energy from its surroundings into pure energy.

He barely stopped to take a breath "I haven't been able to study its upper limits yet, but his notes suggest that it could power a flying car for days! It has properties that don't only empower machinery but they give a sort of 'boost' to the cellular structure of living organisms too…er, for a brief amount of time at least. Heh; and in this case it has accelerated healing properties as well!"

"Look at him, lost his nervousness already" Sonic chuckled, "He's quite the science whiz" he said, glancing over to Sally. The only person in the room who seemed to have grasped what he was saying was Rotor. Everyone else just stood there dumbfounded.

"I've even used a few to power our old plane before." Tails continued, barely even noticing that he'd lost most of his audience.

"But such an energy level would surely have massive ramifications on the integrity of a vehicular vessel? Wouldn't there be an overload in the circuitry?" Rotor questioned.

"Not with the modifications I made!" he chuckled back.

"You made mods to a plane, with unknown technology? Wait, how old are you again?"

"Nearly eleven."

Rotor slapped his hand on his face "Eleven?! That's impressive. **Very **impressive." He rubbed his hand against his chin, "Say, you wouldn't want to check out my lab would ya?"

"Would I?" Tails lit up with glee.

"Well would ya look at that," Sonic said, impressed. He folded his arms and leaned back to view the whole picture. "Heh, it's almost like they've known each other for years!"

"Knowing Rotor, I'm sure they'll be like that for a while" Sally added.

A nurse entered the room "Sorry folks, but visitor time's over. Ms Rabbot will need her rest now."

"But ah'm feelin' better alrea…woah, no ah'm not…" Bunnie slumped her head back on the pillow. "Phew. It's alright guys, I'll catch up with y'all in the mornin'."

"All alone, Bunnie?" Antoine asked, reluctantly edging towards the door. "But you have no-one to talk too. _All _night."

"She needs her rest dear," the nurse said.

"I'll be fine, Sugah-Twan. 'sides; I think Sally-girl 'll need your help."

"Qui, of course. Zere eez not enough of _moi_ to go around, non? But not to worry, we will be back in ze morning to check up on you," he proudly marched out after Sally and Sonic.

Bunnie couldn't help but just roll her eyes.

* * *

><p>Sonic, Sally and Antoine roamed the gardens just on the outside of the hospital building. Children ran past with kites at hand, their laughter filling the air around them.<p>

"It's nice to see that Robotnik hasn't touched this place. It's a lot happier here than the cities of the U.F." Sonic said as he watched the playing kids.

"I can imagine…" Sally said.

"Speaking of ze places…" Antoine cleared his throat "Where is eet, zat you are being from?"

"Well…hmm," he stopped to think about it some more.

"Something wrong?" Sally asked.

"No, well…haha. I guess I've not really thought much of it for a while."

"So, you are ze 'bum', yes?"

"Antoine!" Sally scolded.

"Heh, no, not really. I've just been running around for so long, I guess I've just forgot where I've come from in the first place."

"Oh," she looked down to the ground. She could only assume that he wanders the plains due to Robotnik's wake of destruction; that he likely lost his home in it all. That would also explain why he's out battling him all the time. "That's…sad."

"Eh. Not really. I don't really look back at where I've been. Me and Tails just keep looking ahead" he dashed atop a large boulder, raising a hand over his brow to scan the great horizon "Searching for our next adventure."

Antoine whispered to Sally, whirring a finger around his ear "My princess; we are talking to ze total nutcase."

"Don't be rude Antoine, he's just very…_enthusiastic_ about his work, and I think he holds the key to our victory against Robotnik."

"If you say so my princess," the coyote sighed heavily. "What is ze plan to get him in?"

"Just watch and learn," she winked.

Sonic whistled to them. "Hey, your Highness!"

Sally waved him off "Oh, you don't need to call me that. Just call me Sally."

He leapt down "Sure thing Sal."

Antoine narrowed his eyes "My princess did not give you permission for ze 'nicknames'…" he snarled in his face.

"Forgive him," Sally said, gently pushing Antoine back behind her. "He's my bodyguard, what can I say?" She darted a killer's glare back at the coyote.

"Yeah…so! I was wondering where a good place to grab some grub might be? With Tails off with your friend for, who knows how long, I figured now would be a good time to surf out a good chilli dog," he said rubbing his hands together.

Sally heard Antoine crying out behind "Oh and he has such horrible tastes in cuisine! Why? Why?!"

"Antoine…" she gritted her teeth, before gathering herself together again. She closed her eyes, exhaled slowly and then returned a welcoming smile back to the hedgehog. "Of course. I'll show you to the best chilli dogs stand in town."

Sonic bowed, extending a hand towards the path "Then please, lead the way m'lady".

Very soon, Antoine and Sally were watching the blue hedgehog devouring chilli dog after chilli dog with gusto.

"I can't believe these are free!" he squealed with his mouth full "I may never get another opportunity like this again!"

"He is quite ze fan of ze processed food, non?" Antoine muttered to Sally, trying his best to avoid the food splash zone around a yard's distance from the hedgehog. "Also, ze making of ze messes…"

Sally cleared her throat "Um, Mr Sonic?"

The splashing food ceased immediately as Sonic wiped the food off his mouth looking somewhat embarrassed. He'd forgotten he wasn't alone. "C'mon, just call me Sonic," he flashed yet another one of his million-dollar smiles at her, which made Antoine's blood boil. "No formalities required." His eyes suddenly widened as they darted to the food and back to them. "Oh, uh…sorry, did you guys want some?"

"Ugh! Certainly not after **_zat_** display," Antoine spat, resulting in an elbow jerk in the ribs from Sally.

"No, no please. You go on right ahead. I was…well you see..." she blew a hair strand from her face as she, again, recomposed herself. "What I'm trying to say is; that I would like to make a proposition."

Sonic's eyes bust open once again. He looked really nervous all of a sudden. "O-Oh, I see…" he cleared his throat "Well, you see princess…uh, well I mean…y-you're pretty and all and, **_don't_** get me wrong…"

Sally's smiled quickly changed to confusion; her mouth hanging open, her eyebrow raised, cheeks slightly blushed, her head gently tilted to the side "W-What? No! No-no-no. No," she inhaled deeply before correcting the somewhat startled hedgehog "It's _business_. I'm asking for your help; a partnership."

Sonic raised his eyebrow.

"I want to enrol you in my team – Tails too of course."

"Team? What team?"

"The Freedom Fighters; _our_ team."

"For what?"

"We're going to take down Robotnik and unite Overlanders and Mobians alike," with her eyes widened and sparkling, and her hands clasped together against her heart, Sonic thought she looked as if she was giving a speech in front of her country's flag. "You would make a _very_ valuable asset to our cause, with your unique abilities."

Sonic scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm. Nah," he exclaimed, leaning back in his chair and picking up another chilli dog. "Thanks for the offer though."

Sally shook her head in surprise "Huh? W-What?"

"Nah."

"Nah? What do you mean _nah_?"

"I mean…_nah._" He then chomped into another chilli dog.

Antoine stood up, "Oh, _well_!" he said "Zat is being too bad. Well bye-bye now, au reservoir!"

Sally frowned, not even looking at him "Antoine. **Sit.**" He quickly obeyed; a sad whimpering sound followed after. "W-Why?" she continued.

Sonic sat up once again "Look, nothin' personal or anything, but I've seen your style and it it's just not us. Good luck though."

"What do you mean by '_Not your style'_?"

"Look; Tails and I are a two-man team; no more than that – just us. We work alone. We don't really have much of an interest in adding to that; all it does is slow us down. And I'm all _about_ speed. I mean, the team stuff works for you guys, well, maybe not this last time but…"

Antoine gritted his teeth "Now he _insults_ us?!"

Sally raised a hand "No-no Antoine, it's okay."

"Huh? My princess?"

"Sonic doesn't want to be a Freedom Fighter; we can understand that, right? He's a loner. He's happier to run off on his adventures with little care in the world."

"Yep, that's me alright!" Sonic chuckled. "No shame in a life like that at all."

"There must be _some_ hardships though."

"Ehh, not really."

"So you have access to shelter?"

"Hm," Sonic looked to the cobbled floor in thought "Well, it _is _a problem when it rains…"

"Clean water?"

"Tails _does_ say that it isn't good to drink from the same place you bathe…well, besides the _obvious_…"

"And of course, food?" she said edging his plate of chilli-dogs closer.

Sonic smirked "Nice try, but chilli dogs aren't my deal breaker – no matter how good they are. And all in all, Tails and I have always found _someone_ willing to share us some grub and we've done alright for _years_."

"See?" Antoine exclaimed with disgust "He is nothing but ze street bum; living off ze more _civilized_ people. You should not waste your time with this fu-el who is offered ze life of _luxury_ but chooses to stay ze rat!"

"Hey! Who you callin' a _rat_, flea-bag?" Sonic snarled, racing into the coyote's face. "I'm a **hedgehog**. What are _you_?"

Sally quickly pushed in between them, ignoring Antoine's outbursts, she pleaded again with Sonic. "Please, we really do need you."

Sonic began walking away, tired of the discussion. "Look, I've got problems of my own! And like I said before, you'll all just slow me down."

"**Or** we could _help_ you."

"We can?" Antoine said. Sonic stopped in his tracks.

"As princess of Knothole, I promise to use our resources to aid you in **whatever** quest you have; if you help us in _our_ mission."

His ear twitched slightly, and he hesitantly glanced to the road "I…I don't know…"

"You do need resources, right? I mean, there's only so much you can do on your own and only so many places, right?"

Sonic didn't answer. He shuffled his eyes from side to side, and his ears drooped.

"Okay. Okay; well, how about you sleep on it then? We'll show you around the city today, settle you down for the night and discuss this again at breakfast tomorrow. That way you can get a better look at life here, and see if maybe we have something…that you like."

Sonic looked at her. _It wouldn't hurt to stay just one night would it? They all seem nice enough, and if Tails likes it here, then maybe we __**can**__ hang with these guys for a bit. _"That sounds fair," he winked. "Lead the way, Sal."

Antoine grumbled behind.

"Perhaps we should check on Rotor and Tails first, see what their plans are?"

"Sure thing! I'll grab a doggy bag and bring him some chilli dogs," he, of course, rapidly gathered the remaining hot chilli-slathered hot dogs into a pair of to-go bags.

"Oh, Sonic! I almost forgot, there's one more thing we need from you."

"It's not a blood sample is it?" he joked.

"No-no. You see, our mission this morning, wasn't _exactly_ authorised by the King and Queen…"

"Ohhh! So you want me to keep it all a secret?"

"Yes! Don't tell _anyone_."

"Qui! Not even her older brothair."

"Oh yeah? And what does her 'Brothair' look like anyway? Like Sally here but a lot more…masculine? Maybe a bushier tail to go with it?"

"Qui."

"And does he wear, like, a long blue coat?"

"Qui! Zat he does!"

"And carry a big sword around?"

Sally frowned "Why yes…but wait; how do you…"

"Sally!" Elias called out on cue, causing the girl to jolt in fright.

"E-Elias! You…You startled me!" Sally grasped at her chest, trying to hide her heavy panting from her chuckling older brother.

"Oh, who's your new friend?" he asked after finally ceasing his laughter.

"It's Sonic, your highness. Sonic the hedgehog," he bowed.

"Oh! Yes" Antoine too bowed, embarrassed that he had to be reminded an outsider. He especially hated how Sonic had noticed this as evidenced by the smug look on the hedgehog's face.

"Sonic?" Elias raised an eyebrow with suspicion.

"He's from out of town," Sally jumped in. "We've just been showing him and his friend around."

Elias caught sight of her nervously playing with her hair. A wide smile cultivated across his face and he shook his head with a sense of pride. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'll get out of your way," he stepped to the side, "I'll see you at dinner then."

"Uh, okay – Bye!" Sally hurried off, with her two companions closely behind. She barely stopped to consider her brother's strange response. It's just Elias, she told herself.

"Zat was close, my princess!"

"I agree Antoine, **too** close."

Sonic laughed at the two "If things get any more exciting, Tails and I would _have _to stay!"


End file.
